1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a steam oven to cook food in a cooking chamber by use of steam, and more particularly, to a steam generator of a steam oven, which can simplify the configuration of a device required to generate steam and is detachably attached to a cabinet to assure easy cleaning and washing thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the overall configuration of a conventional steam oven. The steam oven includes a cabinet 110 defining a cooking chamber 111 therein, a door 112 to open or close the cooking chamber 111, and a control panel 113 provided at an upper location of a front surface of the cabinet 110, the control panel 113 having a variety of operating switches and a display to provide information.
The steam oven further includes a steam generating device received in the cooking chamber 111. The steam generating device includes a water injector 114 installed at the control panel 113 to extend from the control panel 113 into the cabinet 110, a boiler 115 mounted in the bottom of the cooking chamber 111 and used to generate vapor, and a water supply pipe 116 to connect the water injector 114 and the boiler 115 to each other.
The boiler 115, as shown in FIG. 2, includes a water tank 117 serving as a steam container to store water therein, and a heater 117a to heat the water stored in the water tank 117. A convection heater 118 and a convection fan 119 are mounted in the rear wall of the cooking chamber 111, to heat and circulate air inside the cooking chamber 111.
In the steam oven having the above described configuration, water is supplied from the water injector 114 into the water tank 117 of the boiler 115 through the water supply pipe 116. Then, the water in the water tank 117 is heated by the heater 117a, to generate steam. The generated steam is used to cook food while being circulated in the cooking chamber 111 by operation of the convection fan 119.
The steam generating device of the conventional steam oven has a complicated configuration in such a manner that the water injector is separately provided to supply water into the water tank of the boiler, the water injector and the water tank of the boiler are connected to each other by means of the water supply pipe, the heater is installed in the water tank of the boiler to heat water in the water tank so as to generate steam, the convection fan is mounted in the cooking chamber to circulate the steam in the cooking chamber, and the convection heater is provided to heat the interior air of the cooking chamber.
The complicated configuration of the steam generating device causes not only a degradation in workability, but also increased manufacturing costs, and inevitably has a limit in the size of an inner space of the cooking chamber.
Moreover, the above described configuration of the steam generating device exhibits a complex coupling relationship of assembling elements, which makes it difficult for a consumer to disassemble the steam generating device by oneself. Therefore, the steam generating device has a difficulty in cleaning and washing. Also, when using the steam generating device for a long time, minerals (calcareous) contained in water are precipitated as scale, providing the steam generator with poor heating performance and unsanitary condition.